Black Lace and Velvet
by Rena the Turk Intern
Summary: In essence, her life was complicated but now that she was hunting, everything was simpler. However, it seemed this newfound simplicity would not spread to the constant source of anger and frustration in her life, the man referred to as Dean Winchester.
1. How Everything began

Damn, this is the first time I've ever written fan fiction for something other than anime. However, after finally getting to see Supernatural, I decided it would be kewl to write a story for it.

Please do not judge too harshly, I've attempted to keep this main character from becoming a Mary Sue, you know. If any of you reading feel she is becoming a Mary Sue, please inform me and I'll either find some way to resolve the problem, or I'll kill her. Sadly, as much as I'm growing to love this character the more I write about her, her death seems like the most obvious action for solving the Mary Sue problem.

Also, even though they're not making an appearance until later, I apologize if any characters are OOC. I've tried my best to keep everyone in character, but still I know that they will probably be seen as OOC by someone considering I've written out their personalities as I've seen in the show, and I wanted to apologize before I got someone pissed off at me.

I hope you enjoy the story.

BTW, I own nothing in this story but Erika. She's all. So don't sue me.

Though, if you did sue me, it's not like you'd get too much.

Prologue

Nine years ago

Gurnee, Illinois

"God, do you ever get out of the house?"

Erika looked up from the book she was reading to see her younger sister Justine standing in the doorway to her room. Erika shrugged and set her book down, being careful to keep her place. The book, another dreary book filled with sad poetry of troubled souls who sought to fight their conflicting emotions was by writing pages filled with meaningless attempts at trying to rhyme 'despair' and 'pain' in a way to make a coherent sentence, was lied upon a blood red bedspread. The bed spread did well to blend with the gothic interior of the room, the sort of decorating job an emo ridden vampire would have been proud of.

"I get out of the house about as much as you do. Tell me, what are you playing this time?" Erika asked in a monotone voice.

"Dragon Warrior, it's some new fantasy based online game. I'm one of the top scorers," Justine bragged. Erika smiled leaned back among the pillows of her bed.

"Figures, you finish those games in a matter of minutes," Erika said.

"Ha, you over estimate my abilities, but then again, that's why you're the best sister ever. Anyways, what time do you go to the party tonight?" asked Justine.

"Sicks," Erika said, but she froze and took a deep breath. "Sicks...secks......seicks... Dammit!" Erika yelled. Justing gave an awkward grin and stepped forward to intervene before Erika lost her temper with her inability to pronounce the word six.

"Hey, no problem, I get the drift, you're leaving at six. So, you want to come to my room and play a few rounds of street fighter or something?" asked Justine.

"Depends, will you go easy on me or just smite my ass into the ground again?" asked Erika.

Justine shrugged and gave a devilish grin. "Depends on how generous I am, or how much money's in your wallet," said Justine.

Erika got off her bed, a hard feat to do without her skirt flopping up around her waist, and strolled over to her door. She followed Justine out and down the stairs to Justine's room. If someone were to look at the two of them, they would appear a mismatched set of people. Justine wore an oversized hoodie labeled with some random game character and a witty catch phrase, and a baggy pair of blue jeans with a pair of oversized converse sneakers. Meanwhile, Erika was elegantly dressed in a long, deep burgundy blouse, a skirt that hung a little above knee length, and long noir stockings that went to mid thigh. Her bleached blonde hair was pulled into a simple bun with a set of three silver pins, engraved with birds and studded with diamonds, clipping it to the back of her head. Justine's deep brunette hair was in a messy pigtail with most of the hair sticking up and waving in the air like a bad wig.

In Justine's room, they played a few rounds of street fighter, all ending with the predictable outcome of Justine beating Erika's ass, and Justine telling Erika about the people she was fighting on the online game. She was just wrapping up one of her stories as six rolled around.

"So, then this guy...user name MisterX or something generic like that, gets all pissed I beat his high score, which was like 18293 or something. I tell the get, WOAH almost beat me there didn't you sis? Well, I told him, them's the ropes. He either beats my score, or I get the bragging privileges and he can't do anything. He starts getting all, 'I'm gonna get you, you're going to be sorry,' and I was like bring it, and then he stopped chatting. Man, it was hysterical, the guy was so mad," said Justine as they were finishing a round.

"What if the guy goes after you? If some psycho gaming freak comes by here-" Erika began.

"How's he going to find me? It's an ONLINE game, not like face to face game. All he can do is sit at his computer and," Justine paused to deliver a finishing blow to Erika's character, "and cry. Hell, I hope he tries to beat my score, that'll make it more fun. Besides, if he shows up here, then you know he'll be a big fat guy with thick glasses and acne all over his face, and really sweaty-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Erika said. She put her controller down and checked her watch.

"Time to go?" asked Justine. Erika nodded and went back up the stairs to her room, packed a few things, and then raced down the stairs. She looked into Justine's room quickly.

"You need anything?" asked Erika.

"Nope, I think I'll go online and start kicking geek boy's ass again. Have fun at your goth slumber party, do lot's of....gothy....things. Just don't sacrifice any goats or virgins," Justine said. Erika rolled her eyes.

"You know we don't do sacrifices for birthday parties, we save those for exam season. Got to make sure the gods are on our side to score a good grade in math after all," Erika joked. Justine giggled and waved her sister off. Erika raced down the stairs and out the door, barely giving herself enough time to pull on her large black combat boots. As Erika walked down the street, she smiled at the darkened sky.

"Man, I hope Mags, got some good horror movies, instead of more really bad slasher flicks," Erika muttered to herself.

Time passed and the house was undisturbed, until an elegantly dressed woman walked from the darkness and to the front door of the house. She knocked on the wood, fixed her hair, and waited. A few seconds later, she appeared to be nervous and rang the door bell. She heard someone yell a response and then the door opened to reveal Justine.

"Erika, wassup? That's a really short slumber party you went to..." Justine said.

'Erika' shrugged and smiled.

"Yeah, I wasn't feeling so well, so I decided to come home. Can we go inside now," said 'Erika'.

"Okay. What happened to your bag? Did you leave it at Heather's?" asked Justine. 'Erika' smiled and shrugged.

"I guess I did leave it at her house. Silly me...heh heh. So, can we go in now?" asked 'Erika'.

"Do you want me to get it for you?" Justine asked.

"No, I'll just go to her house in the morning and get it. So, can we go in now?" asked 'Erika'.

"Um...sure. Do you want me to make you anything?" asked Justine, standing aside. 'Erika' walked in and smiled at Justine.

"Um...yeah. Let's go to the kitchen," said 'Erika.' Justine walked into the kitchen and 'Erika' followed, momentarily looking into one of the video cameras stationed near the front door.

"So, should I make chicken noodle or something?" asked Justine. When she didn't get a response, she turned around to see 'Erika' playing with one of their father's cutlery set. In particular, she was lovingly caressing a large, shiny butcher knife.

"Um...Erika?" Justine asked.

"Sorry. Do you have any idea how long it took me to get that score?" asked 'Erika.' Justine blinked.

"What score? Are you okay...like do you need to lie down or something?" asked Justine.

"And then, when I've gotten one of the highest scores, I mean I was in third! Some little bitch comes along and steals it, and then she has the gull to pretend like it's not a big deal. My time, and all the effort I put in, was wasted for nothing but the condescending remarks of some stupid little cow," 'Erika said. She took the knife and faced Justine.

"Erika...what's going on?" Justine asked, backing away from 'Erika.' 'Erika' smiled and twirled the knife with practiced ease.

"Oh, I won't be that easy on you. You're about to have a very, very bad day," 'Erika' said softly.

~_~_~_~_~

Erika blinked as her house came into sight from the backseat of her friend's car. two police cars were parked in front of the house, and police caution tape was wound around the front door. Without waiting for her friend to stop, Erika jumped out of the car and ran towards her house. She was intercepted on the front porch by a police officer.

"You can't go in there, they're still processing the scene," the man said. Erika looked up at him.

"What scene? What happened, I went to a friend's party last night. Is Justine okay, and dad, are they okay?" Erika asked quickly.

"Erika Saintclaire?" the police officer asked. Erika nodded.

"There was an incident last night, it's best if you come down to the station." said the officer.

"Incident? What do you mean? Are dad and Justine okay?" Erika cried.

"I'll explain at the station, come on," he said, pulling her off of the porch and into the back of a squad car.


	2. Alright, I'm back Now What?

Chapter 1

Portland, Oregon

Present Day

"Now arriving at the Portland Airport. Please keep your seat belt on until the plane has made a complete stop, and thank you for flying Southwest airlines," the automated voice blared over the speakers.

Erika snapped awake and rubbed her eyes. The time shift between Japan and America was brutal on her. Her eyes had dark circles under them, and her black hair, she had not bleached it since leaving America, was acting unruly and she found herself unable to keep random strands from falling lazily in her face. She was dressed in a simple button down shirt and knee length skirt, missing her typical elegant gothic attire and jewelry. The absence of her usual elegance made Erika feel slightly defective, but no more so then the major headache she achieved by receiving an insufficient amount of sleep.

Erika groaned and waited until the plane stopped to unbuckle her seat belt, grab the bag containing her lap top, and walk off the plane. She picked up her remaining bag at the baggage claim and caught a cab.

"Anywhere you're going?" the cabby asked.

"Nearest hotel please. Nothing fancy. I just need a place to stay and rest," said Erika.

The cabby took her to a Holiday Inn and she paid before stepping inside, grabbing herself a room, and lying down on the bed. She closed her eyes and tried to let sleep take over her. However, before her mind could fall back into unconsciousness, 'This is Halloween' broke the silence. Erika groaned, reached over, and pulled her cell phone out of her purse. She checked the ID of the caller and smiled.

"What's up Gabby?" she asked.

"I'm celebrating your return to these Grand Old United States. How was Japan?" asked the girl identified as Gabby. Her voice was high pitched and cheery with plenty of emphasis and emotion.

"Japan was great, and remind me, I've got a lot of anime and crap to give you. God, it feels like yesterday I was at the Tokyo U graduation ceremony...not like that means much now that I'm back in the states then does it," Erika rambled in a slightly monotonish voice with very little emotion. She blamed it on the lack of sleep.

"Dunno. It's still cool you got into Tokyo U, but then again, did you ever go out for a night on the town or anything when you were over in Japan?" asked Gabby.

"Not enough time, I was too busy going through school and doing research. The only times I got out were on obligated outings to better improve my social standing, and a few trips to karaoke bars. It was okay. So, do you have anything for me Gabby," Erika asked.

"Oh, hell yeah. I've been doing some paranormal research while you were gone and found these guys, the ghost facers. They seem legit. There's about four of them...the ring leaders are this guy named Ed Zeddmore and this other guy....Harry Spengler," Gabby explained. Erika pulled a piece of paper out of one of her bags and started jotting notes. Over the phone, she could hear Gabby busily typing.

"So, these guys have been all over. Their profile says that they're in LA trying to entice some producer to take on some show of theirs...they seem kinda stupid. I know you might be a bit turned off to the idea, I mean they seem like complete idiots, but the information of their website seems right. I mean, I've been doing a lot of research and these guys seem like the best shot out there. But, then again, all you seem to get is a bunch of ghost hunters wannabe's when you're researching the paranormal. Maybe, they might be able to help you?" asked Gabby.

"Who knows, with the amount of crack pots and dumb asses we've researched and interviewed, these ghost facers couldn't hurt," muttered Erika.

"Well, I'll send you their web address. You can decide whether to contact them on not, it's all your move. It's great having you back," Gabby said.

"It's great being back. I'll look into these Ghost facers guys, you keep doing such a bang up job as my awesome researcher," Erika said. She and Gabby said their goodbyes, and then Erika hung up the phone and pulled out her computer. She started busily typing away, investigating the Ghost Facers and the information on their site. Gabby had been correct, they did seem unprofessional, almost like a couple of kids blogging about aliens and bigfoot. She groaned and closed her computer after awhile, laying her head on the bed.

In the back of her mind, she debated contacting the group about her problem. Maybe they were just another bunch of idiots and crackpots, ones that would get her hopes up only to dash them on the walls of failure. Maybe, if they could not help her, they could get her on contact with someone who could. She was rubbing her temples and just thinking about calling everything off when her phone rang again. She reached over and looked at the identity of the caller. The color drained from her face and she took a deep breath. Slowly, she flipped the phone open and place it to her ear.

"Hello Father," she said quietly.

"Hello Erika. I heard you've returned from Japan," her father said. His voice sounded strained and controlled, indicating he was trying to be careful of what he said. It made sense, considering their last conversation was the deciding factor in her long self induced exile to Japan.

"Yes. I'm back. I'm going to stay here in Portland for awhile, and then there's a job in LA I'm going to interview for. I've heard there's good money if I get it, and I figure I might meet a movie star and get rich and never have to work again," Erika said.

"LA? Whose paying for your flight there?" asked her father.

"I figure I've got enough for the bus. I've already got my things packed up, it's not going to be too hard to just up and leave for the city," she said.

"The bus, that'll be hell. You could barely stand the drive to our family reunion a few years back," said her father. He seemed cheerier, more like he was when Justine was still alive. Erika ignored the feeling of pain that resonated through her chest at the memory of her sister. Instead, she focused on the memory her father was speaking about.

"I was five, and it was boring. Besides that was twenty years ago, and I know how to entertain myself," said Erika.

"Erika.....did you think about....about what I brought up, back before you-"

"I'm not going to an asylum. I'm not crazy Dad. Listen, I have to go, I'm going to meet some friends for a welcome back dinner," said Erika. She clicked the phone closed as soon as the words of farewell had left her father's mouth. She then placed the phone on the night stand next to the bed, buried her face in the pillows, and sighed.

"Alright, let's figure this out. I have two choices here. Choice A, I go to Los Angeles, meet the ghost facers, and basically leave myself at their mercy. Or," She reached into her pocket as she continued speaking, which proved to be rather hard when her face was buried in a pillow, "I go home, live as normal a life as I can until I finally keel over and die."

Erika pushed herself off the pillow and drew out a coin from her pocket. She flipped the coin and then clapped her hand over it.

"Head I go with choice A, tails choice B!" Erika decided out loud. Slowly, she pulled her hand off and then, seeing the results of the toss, she chuckled.

"Well, looks like I'm meeting up with you ghost facer fellows after all," she muttered.

I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of the story. I'm still trying to keep Erika from falling into Mary Sue territory.


	3. Meeting the Ghost Facers

Hello you all! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I've decided, after a lot of thought, to have this take place after the shit goes down with Lucifer and the angels and the end of the world, that whole mess. In this story, Sam and Dean have saved the world (or in essence, it's a happy ending). They're still hunting (I mean, what else would they do? Could you really picture them settling down in the end, assuming they both actually make it in the show) and at some point, I'd like to have some (possible) crossover between this and a friend's fanfiction.

Now I have like the image of Dean working as an ice cream man in my head. Yay imagination.

Now I want ice cream.

Damn it.

Chapter 2

The bus trip was hell. As soon as Erika had gotten on the foul, overcrowded tin can, she'd been overwhelmed by the sense she was getting herself into more than she could chew. Now, clutching her laptop while watching the large, sweaty man who had fallen asleep about one hundred miles past Salem and was snoring loud enough to wake the dead, Erika wondered if a one way airline ticket to LA would have been so expensive.

The bus hit a bump and Erika felt herself nearly jarred out of her seat. The man next to her snorted and fell so he was leaning on her. Erika gagged when she smelled his breath and she pushed on him, trying to get him away from her. Finally, he pitched over and leaned so a portion of him was now in the alley. She sighed, drew her knees to her chest, and buried her face in the case for her laptop.

This was going to be a long ride.

~_~_~_~

Meanwhile, a few hundred miles from where Erika sat in the misery that was the bus, two brothers drove through the scenery provided when driving through Texas on their own trek to LA. The roar of the impala's engine was accompanied by Dean's music blasting on the car's speakers. Sam awoke and rubbed his eyes.

"We there yet?" he asked sleepily.

"Nope, we've still got a ways to go before we reach LA," said Dean.

Finally, after a long stint of silence, Dean cleared his throat.

"So, we're heading to some high school?" asked Dean.

Sam pulled out a stack of papers and fished out on print out.

"Yeah, Jefferson high school. There was a fire there in the seventies during a school dance. Killed three students, and horribly burned one teacher, some lady who was trying to evacuate all the kids. It was abandoned after that, until about 2006 when they began repairing and remodeling the building. Shortly after it was finished, that's when all these occurrences, little things like crap moving around by themselves and what not. Officially thirty years since the fire, these accidents began," said Sam.

"What kind of accidents?" asked Dean.

"One of the guys was injured when a shower in the locker room exploded and showered him with shrapnel, the other guy was injured when a goal post broke and fell on his head, and the girl had her arm shattered when she was practicing gymnastics in the gym and the balance beam suddenly broke," Sam said, counting off on his fingers the amount of kids that had been injured.

"So how many in all?" asked Dean.

"Eighteen, and the last two were killed. One fell off a balcony when the railing broke. The other was crushed by a vending machine trying to buy a coke," said Sam.

"So, what are we thinking, vengeful spirit, someone whose pissed about the school reopening?" asked Dean.

"Who knows, but either way, we should make sure whatever it is doesn't go and grab another person," said Sam.

"Yeah...Besides, it's been a slow week and a trip to the city would be awesome. Who knows, I've seen those girls on the Hills, and in Hollywood, those Cali girls aren't a bad looking bunch," said Dean.

Sam rolled his eyes and returned to reading over what he'd printed out.

~_~_~_~_~

Standing outside the bus station, Erika cursed her misfortune concerning electronics. In this case it was he phone, which had chosen the opportune moment to go dead. She sat on a bench and waited for them to open the station, a dingy building that was supposed to open at eight, but as nine thirty rolled around was yet to be unlocked. Inside, an electrical outlet tortured her. If she could just get to it, she could call Gabby, who would call the ghost facers, and then Erika could get away from anything that would remind her about the hellish vehicle that had carried her to LA.

Finally, a disgruntled looking employee of unknown gender, Erika could see nothing indicating male or female, opened the door, glared at her, and walked away. Very slowly, Erika stepped into the station and then raced to the outlet. She plugged her phone in and waited until the device indicated that it was on. Then, she quickly dialed the number Gabby had given her for contacting the Ghost Facers.

"Hello Ghost Facers we handle all disputes with the world...beyond!" a voice said over the phone before Erika could even get a word out. Erika stared at her phone and then cleared her throat.

"Hi, my name is Erika. I believe my friend Gabby contacted you?" asked Erika.

The phone was quiet, and then the sound of rustling papers was heard. Erika rolled her eyes and leaned against a wall.

"Gabriella Mitchells?" the voice asked.

"Yeah, that's Gabby. She should have mentioned me, the girl who was interested in interning there? Helping you guys out?" Erika asked. More rusting and Erika held back a groan.

"Erika Saintclaire? Yeah, she mentioned you, said you were coming down to LA. Are you already here?" asked the voice.

"Um, yeah. I'm at the bus station. I was calling to ask if I could get a ride over there, I don't think I have enough for a cab," said Erika.

"Sure thing. I'll have Ed pick you up, he's out getting groceries at the moment," the voice said.

"Okay, that's cool, can I ask who I'm speaking to?" asked Erika, nervously brushing a piece of hair from her face while eying the disgruntled androgynous employee who watched her from across the room.

"Harry Spengler, we'll talk more when you show up here," said Harry over the phone. He quickly let her go, barely letting Erika get out a goodbye before click. Erika blinked and then sat down, already wishing that she was back in Japan. From across the room the employee was going about whatever job they had to do. She watched them for awhile, then sighed and pulled out a book. As long as she was stuck waiting in the bus station, she might as well find a way to amuse herself.

After about a little over an hour, a large white van pulled up in front of the bus station. Erika blinked and looked up from her book as a large man with glasses and crazily styled hair walked into the station.

"Are you Erika Saintclaire?" he asked rather nervously. Erika smiled, rose off the floor, and nodded. The man stuttered a few seconds before squeezing out his next sentence.

"Hey....um...I'm....I'm Ed Zeddmore, with the ghost facers. So, I guess let's get your stuff and hit the road!" Ed said. He helped pile Erika's few bags into the van and take off.

"So Erika, Gabby says you're from Japan. Where in Japan?" asked Ed, driving erratically through traffic. Erika gripped her laptop and cleared her throat, biting back the urge to scream when Ed nearly ran the car into the side of a large truck.

"Um, I spent a majority of my time in Tokyo but...." she trailed off when she squeezed her eyes shut as a large truck came into view barreling towards them. Ed missed the truck and Erika took a deep breath before continuing with her story.

"My aunt was on a naval base in Okinawa. When I wasn't in school, I would typically stay with her," said Erika.

"So, do you like speak Japanese?" asked Ed, stopping at a stop light and finally, it seemed, doing something that didn't put the van into the path of any large vehicle.

"Hai, Nihongo o hanashimasu. Nihongo o hanashimasu ka?" Erika questioned Ed.

**AN:: This is proper, second level Japanese. Basically Erika said yes I speak Japanese. Do you speak Japanese? I'm praying I did the grammar right, Japanese on a computer is difficult.**

Ed stared at her before laughing.

"That is so cool! Hey, do you like anime?" This line of questioning continued until they reached a large condo that Ed affectionately called 'Home Base.' Erika thought it looked more like a dump, but she kept her opinion to herself and followed him into the house.

"Hey Harry! I brought our new intern!" Ed yelled. From upstairs, Erika heard someone yelling, and then a series of loud crashes and even more yells. She eyed the door and wondered if these guys were the only experts she could find. Maybe the Ghost Hunters could help her?

A few seconds later, a skinny, dark haired man came down the stairs. His jaw dropped when he saw Erika and behind him, she could make out another woman of asian descent who appeared rather unhappy with the attention the man was focusing on Erika.

"Hey, you're Erika Saintclaire?" the dark haired man finally asked. Cautiously, Erika nodded. The man charged forward and shook her hand vigorously.

"Hey, I'm Harry Spengler. Wow, the way Gabby described you doesn't do you justice. So, let's go somewhere for the interview!" Harry said excitedly. He grabbed Erika's hand and nearly yanked her shoulder from its socket as he pulled her out of the room. Erika grimaced but allowed him to lead her into a back room filled with computers. Ed and the other girl followed close behind.

"So, first order of business, what do you know about ghosts?" Harry asked. Erika thought for a moment, and then regurgitated everything she'd ever read from all the ghost books she'd read over the years. Harry nodded and took notes. Then, he asked her about her family, to which Erika regurgitated the censored version of her family's history.

The interview went on to ask about her hobbies, her degree from Tokyo U in education, her fears, why she was so interested in the paranormal, her dreams, what she believed she could do for the group, and then it veered into territory that Erika found her hand curling into a fist over.

"So, what's your cup size?" asked Harry. By this time the girl had left the room so it was just Harry, Ed, and some new guy who'd entered but had not yet been introduced.

"None of your business," Erika said as politely as she could.

"Fair enough, would you be willing to wear a bikini?" asked Harry. Erika felt her face turn into a frown and questioned the reasoning behind his question.

"We're trying to get a network to sign our show and we figure if we get an attractive young woman out there, then we can pull in some male audience," said Harry.

"Yeah! Half naked women make everything much better!" Ed contributed. Erika felt like striking each of the men until the risk of them procreating was gone. However, she kept her cool and shook her head.

"No. I am not wearing anything more scandalous than my usual attire," stated Erika.

"Would you be willing to be photographed nude?" asked the man who had yet to be introduced. Erika felt blood rush to her cheeks and, inwardly, she counted backwards from ten. What she would not give to be back in Japan.

"No, I do not go nude, in bikinis, in underwear, or anything else that shows skin. Any further discussion about my body and I swear I will walk out that door and find a new group to serve with," stated Erika.

A long silence took over the room while the men stared at her, apparently horrified at the though of their potential source of major fan service leaving. Finally, Harry cleared his throat.

"Um, sorry about that. We won't have you undress or anything, and you passed the interview. You're in the Ghost Facers," said Harry. Ed and the other man nodded and muttered something to each other, Erika had a feeling it had to do with the absence of any potentially arousing footage that they could have shot with her.

"Thank you, it's a pleasure to be accepted," said Erika.

What did you guys think? Dean and Sam weren't too OC were they? Please, review, review, review and critique! Is Erika too much of a Mary Sue? It appeared to me, the way I wrote out her scenes with the Ghost Facers, that their attitude of treating her with such respect is kinda like something out a bad Mary Sue fanfic, so I'm slightly paranoid. URGH! But, she'll develop soon enough!


End file.
